-
$25M invested in online marketplace
-
Aeropost offerings to expand to Family Islands, starting with Abaco
-
Bahamian sellers will be able to sell their products on the platform as of next year
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The largest online marketplace in the Caribbean and Central America has now expanded to The Bahamas as it aims to “make shopping simple” for Bahamian consumers.
Regional e-commerce giant Aeropost, which was acquired by serial entrepreneur Sebas Bastian’s Click Partners LP, has now added The Bahamas as the 38th country to the list of jurisdictions it operates in.
[pullquote]
Now, more than ever, local retailers must make the aggressive shift to online retail in order to stay competitive.
– Sebas Bastian
[/pullquote]
The company boasts a catalog of over 20 million products, with prices reflecting a fully-landed price, inclusive of customs duty, shipping and delivery costs.
The company allows customers to receive their packages at 20-plus locations across Nassau via the Clickbox smart parcel locker technology network. Locally, the 20-plus locations also include 24-hour package pickup hubs at all Esso service stations in Nassau.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Bastian said the Amazon-like marketplace will allow local businesses to sell their products on its platform beginning in the first quarter of 2022.
“Online shopping has become the dominant trend in The Bahamas,” said Bastian.
“This means that now more than ever, local retailers must make the aggressive shift to online retail in order to stay competitive. The biggest competitor for every local retailers is Amazon.”
He noted that some of the shares in Aeropost have been allocated to the Titan Investment Fund.
Aeropost also employs some 700 people and has 20-plus employees locally, according to Bastian.
“So far, Aeropost is a $25 million investment to date, which will expand as we extend our offering and intensify our marketing across the region and diversify our product offering, especially with the introduction of our new platform slated to come out first quarter next year,” said Bastian.
“Domestic sellers will be able [to] onboard and sell their products on our platform and that will give exposure to their products not just to the local consumers but also the 38 countries we do business in.”
He noted that the company is also taking its offering to the Family Islands and is working to launch its Family Island service on Abaco first.
Aeropost Bahamas currently has two hub (store) locations: in Old Fort Bay and on Carmichael Road.
Other smart parcel locker locations are conveniently placed throughout Nassau on Boyd Road, Cable Beach, Carmichael Road, Charles Saunders Highway, the Mall at Marathon, Robinson Road and Wulff Road & East Street.
Smart parcel lockers are also located at all Esso service station locations: Faith Avenue, Oakes Field Road, South Beach, East Street & Soldier Road, Village Road, Mackey Street, Baillou Hill Road, East Bay Street and Fox Hill Road.
Sebas is a crook all of that money taken away from poor, idiotic gambling Bahamians
Were these “poor idiotic gambling Bahamians” forced to do so? It was there choice to gamble. That freedom to choose is the bedrock of a democratic society. If I remember correctly the Bahamas is a democracy.